DISNEY IS OFFICIALLY NUTSO FOR TRON

I consider myself to be a Tron fan. (And by “Tron fan” someone who read the Tron novelization until the paperback wore out.) But even I have to ask if Disney’s gone a little overboard with their plans to turn Tron into a tentpole franchise in the style of Pirates of the Carribean. I mean come on…it’s goddamn Tron. Wasn’t it just yesterday we were mocking some guy for wearing a Tron suit?

We all know about the sequel Tron: Legacy, which is due out Dec. 17th and a tie-in video game, Tron: Evolution, also due out in December. (What are the chances that they changed the title from Tron 2 to Legacy to help with future sequels? Apparently, pretty good.)

But, apparently Disney is also going forward with a Tron CGI tv series for 2011 – something to keep Tron in peoples minds while sequels get made. And it doesn’t stop there – multiple sites have reported rumors of new Tron additions to the park. These rumors range from the definite (more Tron merchandise in park stores) to the likely (retheming the Space Mountain video arcades into replicas of Flynn’s arcade) to the batshit crazy (a new lightcycle themed coaster based on Vekoma’s Booster Bike ride.)

If you’re curious what that roller coaster might be like, there’s a video of a Booster Bike coaster from the Netherland’s Toverland amusement park below. Now, of course all this stuff is rumor, and Disney’s already pouring a ton of money into their parks with a makeover of the Magic Kingdom’s Fantasyland and a huge revamp of the flawed California Adventure park. But, since they already own Tron completely, it looks like they’re going to try to get every goddamn buck out of it they can.